Award Winners Of The Year
We Pay Tribute To Our Westwood Superstars of 2022
Having the best vehicles, the best prices and the best range of vehicle solutions would be no use at all if we didn’t have the best people. Fortunately for us, the hardworking members of Team Westwood ARE the best people and we defy anyone to say otherwise. Team Westwood are, collectively, the bedrock of the business, the very foundations on which the company is built.
Over the course of 2022 it’s been an honour and a privilege to recognise numerous members of our exceptional team for the times they went far above and beyond, to the benefit of their colleagues and the company as a whole.
When we give recognition, we give more than just a pat on the back and a certificate, a Westwood ‘thankyou’ is accompanied by a gift voucher with a face value of no less than £250 as well as the coveted gold ‘Superstar’ trophy! Our team deserve no less than the best for their incredible efforts.
Over the course of the year it’s been a privilege to pay tribute to some of our team and in their honour, we’ve collated their achievements and accolades into a single post.
So, in no particular order, we pay homage to the following for all they’ve achieved in 2022…
Kate Close – General Manager
To no-ones surprise at all, our Finance Director Laura was proud to present the certificate and the accolade for Westwood Motor Group Employee of the Year, along with a commensurate reward to our very own General Manager Kate Close.
Anyone who’s been anywhere near Westwood almost since the beginning cannot fail to be familiar with Kate. She’s the strategic and organisational powerhouse responsible for both overseeing, and taking a direct hand in the day to running of the whole company.
Solving problems, handling EVERYTHING and keeping the plates spinning is par for the course for Kate. Alongside her General Manager duties, she’s also managed to sell around 350 vehicles this year alone and is famous for somehow managing to remember pretty much all of the number plates on several thousand vehicles seemingly off the top of her head, who’s had them and where they went.
It’s no hyperbole to say that Westwood’s metaphorical wheels might well fall off without Kate’s matchless capability, hard work and dauntless dedication. It’s been said that, like a stick of rock, if you cut Kate in half, Westwood would be written all the way through her!
Kieron Hough – Head Technician
New registration releases are busy times for anyone in the motor trade. With lots of fleet swap-overs as the pace of new deliveries ramp up. Supply is starting to return to normal levels now and last years contract hire vehicles are now coming back in droves so customers can change into the new stock.
Without coordination, this would be a recipe for utter chaos. It hasn’t been chaos.
Kieron Hough is our longstanding Head Technician and as the title suggests, he’s in charge of our technical team here at Westwood. He’s the ‘hands-on lynchpin’ behind making our fleet function, keeping it functioning and making sure everything is where it’s supposed to be at the right time.
There isn’t a mechanical challenge he can’t fix or a problem he can’t solve. In addition to keeping our entire fleet purring like a collection of happy kittens, Kieron also coordinates our extensive vehicle stock across both our branches as well as our external sites.
Kieron is also instrumental in the planning which keeps the Logistics team on track. This is the exceptional work Kieron does every single day, so when we present HIM with a trophy for exceptional performance, we want it to be known just how much he’s pulled it out of the bag.
Of particular note is the occasion we had a new customer who’d been badly let down by another supplier and we managed to source, equip and get an entire fleet to them in an exceptionally short timeframe to help them meet their looming deadlines. Kieron was instrumental in the organisation and the hands on work of making this unusual job happen.
Toni Hill – Accounts Adminstrator
We’re in the fortunate position of sharing a company with so many dedicated, hard-working and high performing individuals who together, make up the Vehicle Solutions juggernaut that is Westwood Motor Group.
Earlier in the year we were delighted to give recognition to our very own Accounts Administrator Toni Hill has, through her diligence and tenacity, performed so exceptionally well in relation to one particular large account, that this recognition was more than owed.
Bethan Hurst – Sales & Rental Executive
Bethan is one of our youngest team members, but that doesn’t stop her from making herself heard! She earned two separate awards this year. Neither of them were for singing.
Some times are busier than others and during some exceptionally busy periods, with everything that was going on at the time and with team members down, Bethan always stepped up and went considerably above and beyond. She helps us achieve target after target, frequently filling in for others as she does so.
Chris Ellison – Marketing Manager
Chris is responsible for pretty much every bit of Westwood’s online presence. From all our Website Content, Social Channels, Youtube videos, photography, SEO and more. He’s also the defacto HR and IT department.
According to our Finance DIrector Laura, “Chris does an exceptional job every single day, promoting all of Westwood’s new offers and behind the scenes stories. Besides his own very busy schedule, he always finds the time to help every single member of the team who shout the famous words “Chris can you just…..” more than ten times a day.. he ALWAYS says “Of course” with a huge smile. We really thank you very much for all you do for Westwood.”
Lorraine Fairhurst – Accounts Manager
Lorraine heads up our accounts team’s day. today operation and has worked tirelessly, going above and beyond in order to make sure tight, externally imposed deadlines were met and essential accounting processes were completed.
This has been despite the unique circumstances we’ve all lived through in 2022 and despite our expansion, which itself has presented a number of new challenges. Challenges which, it has to be said, Lorraine has overcome in addition to all the regular, important duties for which she’s also responsible, going the extra mile each and every day.
Ilesha Taylor – Administration Clerk & Rental Assistant
Ilesha is very much ‘behind the scenes’ but that doesn’t mean we don’t notice her exceptional work. We have various teams dedicated to keeping the essential financial, administrative and other back-office functions functioning. Without them, the books wouldn’t be done, suppliers wouldn’t be paid and a million other essential jobs wouldn’t be completed.
Ilesha had only been with us for a relatively short time at the time she earned special recognition, but she had quickly made herself utterly indispensable and has continued to do so. Working with and as part of the Accounts team, she takes every task in her stride. If a document can be found on our file server, if a PCN has been passed on in a timely fashion, if our various collections of data have been completed, meticulously organised, or reconciled, it’s likely we have Ilesha to thank. Ilesha repeatedly proves herself more than capable of anything she turns her hand to and has frequently gone beyond the call of duty to do all she can to ensure the Westwood engine ticks over smoothly. And tick over it does.
Kegan Brown – Mechanic
The youngest member of our workshop team, Kegan has absolutely blown us away and continues to blow us away with the colossal effort and dedication he’s demonstrated despite his years.
With nearly 3,000 vehicles on our fleet, our skilled technical team are always exceptionally busy and have a constant throughput of vehicles to look after, allowing us to look after our customers quickly and efficiently. Kegan, has amazed us with his ability and hard work under considerable pressure. Since receiving his award, this effort is increasingly tempered with the experience he continues to gain and we’re proud of the fine mechanic he has now become.
